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Women take 50% of seats in new Bolivian Cabinet
Evo Morales opened his second term as President of Bolivia by appointing a cabinet comprised of 10 men and 10 women.
The unprecedented commitment to gender parity was warmly welcomed by women’s groups and activists across the country–whose support played an integral role in the socialist president’s rise to power.
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African Union urged to engage with women on peace and security
The Nobel Women's Initiative is supporting women's groups who are urging the African Union to make good on their promise to put women front and centre in peace plans. African heads of state officially launched the "Year for Peace and Security" at the 14th African Union Summit, coming to an end today in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Iranian Government continues attempts to silence activists
The Iranian Government is continuing its campaign of intimidating activists, arresting thousands. Many of the detainees are women, who seemingly vanish into Iranian prisons without a trace. The security and intelligence forces justify their actions using a blanket detention order, which gives agents the license to arrest anyone at will.
Wangari Maathai publishes Opinion Piece on Sudan
The Christian Science Monitor has published an opinion piece by Wangari Maathai regarding her support for the Report of the African Union High-Level Panel on Darfur (AUPD). Maathai states the report "is a genuine attempt at African solutions for the Darfur problem in particular and conflict within Sudan more broadly."
Read more »Peace Laureates Unite to Condemn Treatment of Shirin Ebadi and Iranian Activists
In an open letter to Iranian President Ahmadi Nejad, 14 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates condemn Iran's intimidation of Shirin Ebadi and other Iranian activists. The letter was signed by Wangari Maathai, Jody Williams, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, His Holiness The Dalai Lama, F.W. de Klerk, and 9 other Nobel Peace Laureates. The letter warns Ahmadi Nejad's government that the crackdown on opposition will not end the demands for human rights.
Peace Laureates Unite to Condemn Treatment of Shirin Ebadi and Iranian Activists
President, Islamic Republic of Iran
Pasteur Avenue
Tehran, Iran 13168-43311
21 January 2010
To President Ahmadi Nejad:
We are deeply distressed to learn of the recent actions taken against our sister Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Shirin Ebadi. We urge the Islamic Republic of Iran to immediately release all funds belonging to Dr. Ebadi and her husband and stop the harassment of Dr. Ebadi and her family.
Dr. Ebadi has been the target of a long campaign of intimidation. In the past, her home has been vandalized, her offices have been searched and shut down and her documents and computer seized. Dr. Ebadi has been denied access to her bank accounts and denied her pension payments. She has received death threats and her family members have been threatened as well. Her husband has also had assets frozen and confiscated and has been assaulted and detained. Most recently, her sister Dr. Nooshin Ebadi was arrested and detained.
Although the foreign ministry has implied that the assets have been frozen because of a tax dispute, Dr. Ebadi has stated that the confiscation of her property is in breach of the law of the Islamic republic. The claim from the government for taxes on the Nobel Peace Prize money has been presented only recently, many years after her receipt of the funds. The fact that Dr. Ebadi's assets were frozen by an order from the Islamic Revolutionary Prosecutor's Office, rather than tax authorities, and the blocking of her husband's assets and accounts, further undermines the credibility of the claim that this is a tax dispute. Any genuine dispute about taxes should be resolved by the proper procedures and authorities, not by security forces through such unlawful and extrajudicial methods.
In 2003, Dr. Ebadi was the first Iranian to win the Nobel Peace Prize and her honor brought honor to the Iranian people. Dr. Ebadi advocates on behalf of Iranian political activists, religious and ethnic minorities, and women and children through peaceful means. The continued attempts to intimidate her and stop her work are not only futile, they color your regime as unjust and unreasonable.
These recent actions against Dr. Ebadi appear to be part of an intensifying strategy to silence civil society and human-rights defenders. This has included the harassment, arrest, imprisonment, torture and execution of human rights activists, violent reactions to peaceful protests and a crackdown on Internet access and press freedom. We have recently learned of the arrest of more than sixteen women human rights activists and the imposition of the death sentence on five other human rights activists.
We know this strategy will not succeed. Thousands of Iranians will continue to express their ideas about how they want to live and what they believe Iran should look like and we, along with the rest of the world, will continue to support them. We urge you to halt the policies of intimidation and harassment of Iranian citizens exercising their rights. It is long past time to listen to and work with the people of Iran instead of violently suppressing them.
We respectfully await a response to our concerns and requests.
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Prize (1976)
Betty Williams, Nobel Peace Prize (1976)
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize (1984)
Elie Wiesel, Nobel Peace Prize (1986)
His Holiness The Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Prize (1989)
Rigoberta Menchu Tum, Nobel Peace Prize (1992)
F.W. de Klerk, Nobel Peace Prize (1993)
President Jose Ramos-Horta, Nobel Peace Prize (1996)
Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize (1997)
John Hume, Nobel Peace Prize (1998)
David Trimble, Nobel Peace Prize (1998)
Shirin Ebadi, Nobel Peace Prize (2003)
Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize (2004)
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Women must be at centre of relief efforts in Haiti
The shortage of medical supplies, food and water—along with rising violence—is having a disproportionate impact on women in Haiti. International relief efforts must ensure that humanitarian aid continues to reach women and other vulnerable groups.
Read more »Aung San Suu Kyi appeals to Burma's Supreme Court
Burma's Supreme Court began hearing Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against the 18-month extension of her house arrest on Monday. Her lawyers are optimistic about the outcome and will hear the ruling within a month.
Under Burma's newly adopted constitution, the extension of her arrest means that she will not be eligible to run in this year's pending elections. The military junta has promised its citizens and the international community that elections will be held in 2010, the first time since 1990, although a date has not been set.
Read more »Help women and their families in Haiti
The death count could be upwards of 200 thousand—or more—in Haiti. Rescuers are working around-the-clock to find bodies under the rubble of thousands of destroyed buildings. Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of people are without water, food and shelter. You can help.
TAKE ACTION
Visit the web sites of these organizations, working on the ground in Haiti. They need your donations to make their work possible.
Global Fund for Women's Crisis Fund
Read more »Mairead Maguire calls for Egypt to open border with Gaza
Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire is calling on the 
Egyptian government to open its border with Gaza to allow people and aid to enter the territory freely. This following the assault on a humanitarian convoy last week. Read the statement.